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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

I love these poems. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with in the morning. It’s almost 11 pm here so I’m off to bed.

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Angela Joy's avatar

A really lovely prompt LeeAnn 🤩

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Tamsin's avatar

good day all, so I had a good play, following the prompt exactly, including timings etc and, as is my wont, wrote abut it extensively here https://tamchennell.substack.com/p/poetry-pals-week-17-timed-poetry?r=2mh4vu if you like the idea of reading that. I struggled with the refining of the poem and ended up with fistfuls of versions, but settled on this one, I'm still not convinced I chose the right format. (odd dots to maintain formatting only)

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Thalassophile

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surf-dragged grains sweep the shore,

roll on crumpled waters edge.

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sparkle-topped waves ridge sand

gridded impressions litter the beach

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wind-whipped surf crazes tasty lips

dank salt-breeze hair crunches, crackles

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gritty sand finds flesh creases into lined skin,

rough grains rubbed between briny digits

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tickling marram grass fortifies trickling dunes,

unstable terrain erasing sunken footprints

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bladderwrack pops slimily underfoot,

sending spicy sea-scent soaring

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toe curling cold shallow pools suck breath

harbour tide-waiting stranded creatures

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share this wonder sit, listen, see, feel

gentle harmony, peace, beauty

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Angela Joy's avatar

‘toe curling cold shallow pools suck breath’ 🤍 Beautifully evocative and calming x

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Tamsin's avatar

☺️

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Erin Stinson's avatar

A masterclass in imagery! Wonderful, Tamsin!

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Tamsin's avatar

Aw, thank you Erin.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

I can really feel this one. The sand in cracks and crevices, crunchy hair, salt, and using bladderwrack in a poem, how fabulous!

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Tamsin's avatar

Thank you

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Ellen Clayton's avatar

This is beautiful Tamsin, the images are so evocative. I felt like I was there 🌊

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Tamsin's avatar

☺️

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Anna's avatar

I've totally stolen your idea of including dots to maintain formatting! that's genius! So much beautiful imagery in here - I love the slimy popping bladderwrack.

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Tamsin's avatar

Steal way, needs must and all that. And thank you

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Angela Joy's avatar

I loved the prompt LeeAnn - the way it was timed and the strange freedom there was in this!

I chose the gorgeous Wendell Berry poem to think on (The Peace of Wild Things) and ended up honing in on the word ‘presence’ which is a word that has been spinning around my head so much for a long time - it’s the thing that really makes us feel supported/not alone…

P R E S E N C E

The word itself so calm and stabilising

a message to my senses: I am not alone

affirmed, not ‘being fixed’

seen, not judged

Its essence gentle, unassuming,

The way it whispers itself off my tongue

softly spreading out around me

holding

witnessing

staying

feeling

alongside me

a friend

a forest

still water

I am part of something bigger

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Nelly Bryce's avatar

“A friend. A forest…” this whole last bit I could read daily and never be done ❤️

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Erin Stinson's avatar

Ooo, I love Berry. Your reflection made me feel calm and stabilized! Beautiful, Ange.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

I love the rhythm and how the lines break. I’m with Nelly. I could repeat those last lines to myself all day— and I just might!

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Ellen Clayton's avatar

This is so beautiful and the formatting is gorgeous 😍

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Tamsin's avatar

loving the formatting, the list at the end adding and adding - being bigger.

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Anna's avatar

What gorgeous poems, thank you Nelly.

I didn't manage to do a timed poem, but this is what came up this week, and it's just about on theme. Would value feedback though - it's meandered around a bit so I wonder if it feels like one whole poem?

Web of Women

“You always look great”.

Her Birmingham accent echoes strange in east London.

We don’t exchange names, walking home from school drop off through the estate.

Another rainy Thursday.

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“What about my manky coat, large belly, frizzy hair, dodgy skin?”

I wonder, wordlessly.

Instead “you’re so smart, stylish”.

“You’ve made my day”.

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We part, head home,

But now we are woven:

There’s the web, you see.

The web of women.

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Mostly, I spend my days alone with little ones -

Housework, food shop, sometimes a stay and play:

Isolation hovers.

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Yet I can’t escape it:

The web of women.

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Old friends, newer acquaintances,

Women in waiting rooms, shops,

With buggies in the street.

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A kind word,

Sympathetic glance,

A stare, even, of admiration.

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Or a text, out of the blue, from a friend who just won’t give up:

Relentlessly forgiving,

Unbending.

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I try to break apart

(It’s hard to be loved, apparently),

But those bonds are forged in fire.

Unbreakable by time and space.

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Far away, close by,

At times invisible.

Yet lean back far enough, and you’ll find them:

The web of women.

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Nelly Bryce's avatar

Lean back far enough and you’ll find them!!! I love the web of women. What a great concept. I wonder whether you could have a play starting it a bit later. Maybe with the first “web of women” or maybe even the last stanza becomes the first AND last? Sometimes I’ll do that just to get curious if it still works. But I really like “isolation hovers” so wouldn’t want to lose that bit. X

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Anna's avatar

Nelly, thank you so much - those are really valuable suggestions. Hugely appreciate your input. I’m going to have a play…

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Angela Joy's avatar

A masterpiece!! My heart was nodding with every line. I know, see, *feel* those invisible threads of women’s emotional labour/encouragement/knowing so much that make communities glisten. Such a beautiful way of expressing this underground secret service of women x

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Anna's avatar

Gosh Ange, you’ve put it even more beautifully - “make communities glisten”, “underground secret service of women”… you’ve reminded me of what fills my heart this morning. Thank you so much for your words x

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Erin Stinson's avatar

I read this almost like a journal entry, like reading your musings on the interconnection of women after that encounter on a rainy Thursday. It feels like a whole poem to me.

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Anna's avatar

it did more or less arise from journal scribblings! Thank you for the reflection that it feels whiole.

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Tamsin's avatar

What a wondrous web we weave when we seek to uphold the women we know.

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Anna's avatar

Indeed 💛

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Ellen Clayton's avatar

I love this, Anna! A joyous image of a web of women and I like the details of when these moments happen 😍

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Anna's avatar

Thank you so much Ellen

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Ellen Clayton's avatar

Nelly; what a joyful way to start the morning. Such beautiful poems! I especially love Joy Sullivan’s piece 🤩 I have read lots of her stuff online so I really should buy her book!

Thank you for the prompt LeeAnn - I really enjoyed the timed aspect, I think that was really useful for me to make sure I actually sat down and did it this week (given that it was a relatively small amount of time that I needed to commit!).

I tried to stay out of my comfort zone a little by trying to write about physical, natural beauty, as I very rarely do that. Every August we spend a week at a campsite called The Willows with all of my side of the family, and it’s the most relaxing and joyous part of the whole year. I’ve written about it before but usually very specifically about the people. The willow trees were the inspiration for this - I don’t know how well it works but I enjoyed writing it. At the end, I’m not sure about repeating beautiful again after already using beauty but nothing else seemed to work!

The Willows in August

We create a sanctuary amongst the willow trees,

a canopy of drooping branches

becoming our refuge from the world.

Kin — all those I love most, sheltering

amidst the green.

Leaves are scattered on the blanket of grass,

lush with the summer’s rain,

clumps of soil marking molehills:

a sign of all the life underground.

Under canvas, my worries reduce down

to the size of a pebble, held in my palm

to share with my sisters.

It’s weightless now.

I am lighter, watching swallows overhead

as though it’s a procession just for us:

a parade of beauty.

Deep orange hues colour the sky,

a vivid sunset to soak this beautiful,

beautiful earth. This place is magic.

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Nelly Bryce's avatar

Oh I love how you’ve edged yourself towards a different part of that experience. What great storytelling. The worries reducing down to the size of a pebble to share is just the nicest image x

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Angela Joy's avatar

I love this Ellen!

‘Under canvas, my worries reduce down

to the size of a pebble, held in my palm

to share with my sisters.’ 😍😍

We do an annual trip with old friends and reading your poem made me feel those gorgeous times. Just lovely x

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Erin Stinson's avatar

You’ve transported me, Ellen! And now I’m longing to retreat to this willowed place!

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Tamsin's avatar

very evocative indeed. I can feel you relaxing through the poem.

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Erin Stinson's avatar

Hello all! I’ve been basking in the slowness of spring and my list of beautiful things couldn’t help but continue to reflect that. I found I wanted more time with both the free write and the working out a poem from it but the constraints are such a good challenge! (Thank you, LeeAnn!) My muse was a flower - the prairie crocus - and I don’t feel I have done her justice yet but here is what emerged.

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I found delight

in the folds of a prairie crocus.

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I searched for her

pale purple sepals

the first to emerge

in the mess of winter’s aftermath.

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I pursue her

eager for the sign

it is time to open

time to be seen.

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She grows where the ground lies

exposed and windblown

as if to audaciously claim

I will bloom right here.

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The hue of her beauty

a hymn of renewal

her woolen face unafraid

of its softness.

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Do not dare to name

her vulnerability delicate

she has chosen

to be the herald.

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Coaxing a garden

out of the sleepy earth

into burgeoning abundance

as her flower fades.

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Angela Joy's avatar

This is exquisite Erin, all of it. I especially love ‘I found delight

in the folds of a prairie crocus.’ ❤️

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Erin Stinson's avatar

Thank you, Ange!

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Ellen Clayton's avatar

Ooh this is gorgeous Erin!

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Erin Stinson's avatar

Thank you, Ellen!

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Kathryn's avatar

Well that was fun! And I really enjoyed Instinct. Here's what I came up with this week.

A dragonfly comes to rest,

Inches from my face,

As I sway gently on my kid's swing,

Belly down, legs dangling free,

Nose nearly grazing the damp grass

I resist the urge to reach for my phone,

Suppress the need to capture a photo of this magnificent insect

(I'll never look at the photo again anyway)

Instead I, pause, inhale, take it in

Its beauty.

Shocking blue.

Black strips like a tiger yet more fragile.

Wings delicate yet strong, stained glass.

As quickly as she'd arrived,

She was gone

Later (phone back in hand)

I Google the dragonfly only to learn it is "common".

Male.

And, in fact, a damselfly.

I don't know the difference, nor do I care,

For a second, the world shrank,

And we were all that existed

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Angela Joy's avatar

‘For a second, the world shrank,

And we were all that existed’ 😍 Lovely x

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Kathryn's avatar

Thanks Ange x

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Ellen Clayton's avatar

That’s beautiful Kathryn ❤️

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Kathryn's avatar

Thanks Ellen x

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Macy Hudgins's avatar

I did not write a poem about beauty, but I wrote several others this week. But I really enjoyed reading the poems this week, simply because the topic of wonder has been a recycled theme this week.

It was a wonderful selection of poems this week, but the first one was my favorite. Sometimes I find myself thinking of the same things that it talked about. I have just never had the right words to try and explain it. Maybe one day I’ll have nerve enough to try!

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Nelly Bryce's avatar

Oh most definitely try. I think its only by trying that we find them? I think the first one might be my favourite too, although...

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Kathryn Anna Marshall's avatar

Beautiful poems to start the day Nelly, thank you! I loved this prompt - it felt like a peaceful meditation. Here's what came from it - first draft obviously - feedback welcome!

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Tamsin's avatar

im loving the echoed words - if I were so crass as to give feedback it might be to think of your echoed words filling more space showing visibly how they fade with each echo and the distance they cover (does that make sense?) a bit in the vein of last weeks poetry using white space.

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Kathryn Anna Marshall's avatar

Just discovered I can - just not on my phone :)

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Kathryn Anna Marshall's avatar

Aha they do - just can’t show it on here :) Great minds eh?

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Tamsin's avatar

substack really needs to help with poetry formatting, great minds indeed

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Antonia Taylor's avatar

Nelly! What a gorgeous, life-affirming selection🙏🏽 I haven’t seen the Sarah Crossan one before and I’m sitting down with Joy Sullivan later today. Thank you xo

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Nelly Bryce's avatar

Oh what a treat, enjoy!

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Jenny Preston-Griffiths's avatar

I'm going to throw mine in at the end. Let see what it looks like out of the scribbles.

Between.

I look between

Not at the seen The colours The shapes The patterns.

Breathe.

Before and After A pattern in and out The sea The sand The rocks always there Changing how they see each other.

Everyday.

Every month every year

Ask the moon She knows Drawing them back And letting them go

Do I have my own Moon?

Do I get drawn back?

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Rach's avatar

These I have loved is so beautiful 💕

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Brian Funke's avatar

I love that Joy Harjo piece!

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

This is so rich. It could be a two-part poem. You could explore this endlessly!

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May 17, 2024
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Nelly Bryce's avatar

The whale is such a good choice because they are indeed glorious. The double meaning in this works gorgeously. It’s such a good premise. I wondered whether the last line might switch to I am whale, as in that hint of owning it. But then maybe it’s still got that hint with the question mark. Oh it leaves a lot to consider, which is so good. (Also, wtf to people body shaming from car windows. Just wtf) x

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Nelly Bryce's avatar

No ignore that. I think it works better as it is. Just going in for my third read 🤣

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Tamsin's avatar

And this is why we choose the bear!

Embrace the whale. Why should our lives be a constant derision of self? love it.

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May 19, 2024
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Tamsin's avatar

Darn right it would, and it could either offer you honey, or marmalade sandwiches, or sing you a song about necessities, or just wander away. It would never berate you for your choice of clothing.

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Erin Stinson's avatar

Whales *are* majestic. I feel the complexity of this one, Zoe.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

This is beautiful and so so powerful. I do relate to wanting to hide parts of my body that I find less than or other people will.

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Angela Joy's avatar

The short, repeated questions are so effective Zoe. And how you weave in the all-too-familiar man in a car comment and the effect that takes in our minds over a lifetime “and so I must be.” Love the power in writing about and sharing a really honest moment x

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Ellen Clayton's avatar

I’m sure many of us can relate!! I like that you put in the “All my life” bit, because I think it really speaks to how existing, especially as a woman, in our society means we spend most of our lives being taught to detest our bodies. I hope you are feeling better - your body is majestic, too ❤️

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May 17, 2024
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Ellen Clayton's avatar

Oh Zoe that’s horrific. I can’t believe the cruelty of people!!! I bet your legs are gorgeous but I can see why that feels like a scary step ❤️ and gosh I know - we deserve to be comfortable, regardless of our size or appearance ❤️

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